睡衣游戏 (MANDARIN: PAJAMAS GAMES)
LET’S CELEBRATE the Chinese New Year (beginning today, January 25, 2020) with a pair of new pajamas. The point of this sartorial preference will evolve in the following collection of … Continue reading
THE FORBIDDEN CITY—AND ME
A RECENT ARTICLE IN The New York Times prompts me to share rare photographs from my personal collection. These images follow, accompanied by the report of “S.U.V. in Forbidden City … Continue reading
BIG APPLE NOSHING—1923
I JUST READ Sara Bonisteel’s “The Four-Star Restaurants of New York,” in The New York Times, January 14, 2020. Note, this is the newspaper’s own top ratings, not Michelin’s Three-Star … Continue reading
POKÉMON GO VERSUS THE CANADIAN MILITARY
DAUGHTER SUZ is an ardent player of Pokémon GO, the augmented-reality game wherein players chase digital animated creatures all over the world. And when I say “ardent,” I note with … Continue reading
TWO LIBRARIES LOVED BY BOB
BOB ECKSTEIN IS a talented illustrator, cartoonist, and writer frequently appearing in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Mad Magazine. In my book, high praise indeed. His recent … Continue reading
ON ENGLISH TEAS
PLEASANT MEALS IN English homes, mentioned recently at SimanaitisSays, remind me of that quintessential English practice of afternoon teas. Here are tidbits on the subject, gleaned from a little book … Continue reading
SINGAPORE STARS
MICHELIN GUIDES WERE originally developed in 1900 to help French motorists identify motor car mechanicians as well as restaurants. Based on anonymous reviewers, Michelin began recommending restaurants with single stars … Continue reading
ICELAND, WPI, AND THE PLAN
I REGRET THAT my undergraduate years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute were before The Plan. My graduation coincided with the 100th anniversary of this solidly traditional engineering school “founded on a … Continue reading
LAS VEGAS HITCHING
CHAROLETTE RICHARDS is 86 now, and her Little White Chapel, 1301 Las Vegas Boulevard, is up for sale with an asking price of $12 million. Cassidy George asks, “Why Won’t … Continue reading
ADIEU, COOK’S
THE BANKRUPTCY OF famed travel agency Cook’s is sad indeed after its 178 years in providing travel services. I have a bibliographic interest, in that my most recent Cook’s Traveller’s … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 